It’s a new year, and I begin 2024 under both a literal and metaphorical cloud.
Here I am, soaked through and knackered, pushing trollies in the work car park last night. I took the photo because I didn’t think it would be believed that I actually had to go out there during Storm Henk. After an incredibly busy Christmas period, I am shattered. There are still two months until I get a week off work. I sense that I am on a downward slope.
Anyway, that’s enough self-pity. Here’s a few things that have caught my eye this week.
Daft news story: in the media, there are two ‘silly seasons’. One is in August, when everyone is on their summer holidays and nothing much is going on. The other is that weird week between Christmas and New Year. Last Thursday I was in a cafe with my mum and stepdad when my phone vibrated. The big breaking news story was that grand old Blackpool Tower was on fire! A bona fide English landmark was going up in flames! Not quite. It turned out to be some orange netting at the top of the tower blowing about in the wind. There was no fire. The media made a hasty retreat. In less than a week, the Blackpool Tower ‘fire’ has become a meme.
I once wrapped orange netting around the top of the Blackpool tower and fooled the whole country into thinking a national landmark was on fire. pic.twitter.com/vjP90uaBIG
A sporting sensation: Luke Littler, who is 16 but – let’s be honest – looks about 35, has taken darts by storm by cruising into the final of the World Championship in his debut year. Impressing everyone with his consistent high scoring and seemingly nerveless disposition, Littler only became world youth champion in November but has beaten Raymond van Barneveled and Rob Cross, who have six World Championship titles between them, in the main event. He plays the world number one and pre-tournament favourite Luke Humphries at Alexandra Palace in London tonight.
I love the darts. I used to watch it with my dad when I was a kid. Even now, I think the Christmas period only really starts when the World Championship begins. It’s immensely entertaining, and fantastic to watch people who are good at things do what they do. Last year, an incredible leg in the final between Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen saw both players on course for a nine darter (the perfect leg of 501). van Gerwen missed the double 12, but Smith hit it. That got everyone talking – this year it’s Luke Littler that has captured the imagination.
A book I’m reading: my Christmas presents this year consisted mainly of books, which is fine by me. One of them was Everything To Play For: The QI Book Of Sports, which I’ve been thoroughly enjoying because it avoids the dreaded sporting cliches and takes a step outside of the bubble us sports fans tend to be in to take a forensic look at what sport actually is, how it began and why it exists. I recommend it, even if you don’t like sport, because it will explain to you that sport is far from a pointless activity and that it is actually built in to the human psyche.
Thanks for reading my musings this week. See you again soon.
England captain Jos Buttler completes the demolition of India in the semi-finals
The T20 World Cup – that is, the global tournament for the short and sweet 20-overs-per-side format of the game – started in Australia on 16th October. The first week saw Ireland, Namibia, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, the West Indies and Zimbabwe compete in two groups of four for four places in the next round. There were shocks – Nambia beat Sri Lanka (2014 winners) in the very first game and Scotland beat the West Indies. The West Indies were actually eliminated in this first round – the 2012 and 2016 champions were out before the tournament had really got going.
Ireland, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe progressed to the Super 12 stage, where they were joined by Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa in two more groups of six. The top two in each group would go through to the semi-finals. Australia, the hosts and last year’s winners, were thrashed by New Zealand in their first game. Pakistan lost a thriller to arch-rivals India, then were beaten by Zimbabwe to leave them on the brink of going out.
Australia won the World Cup last year but failed to get out of the group stage here
The weather was a problem early on. The tournament was being played very early in the Australian spring, so rain caused issues in several games – Afghanistan’s two chances to play at the enormous, world famous Melbourne Cricket Ground were both washed out. South Africa would have beaten Zimbabwe had the rain not come down, a dropped point that would prove very costly indeed. The tasty clash between Australia and England did not see a ball bowled. England were stuttering in a run chase against Ireland before the weather forced an early ending, with the Irish earning a famous win on the Duckworth/Lewis/Stern method.
New Zealand were the early form horses, but England beat them and then completed a nervy win over Sri Lanka to knock Australia out of their own competition and progress to the semi-finals. On the final day of the Super 12s, South Africa suffered a shock defeat to the Netherlands to open the door for the winner of the Bangladesh v Pakistan match to go through at their expense. That beneficiary was Pakistan, into the semi-finals when days before it looked like they were heading home.
Pakistan are in the T20 World Cup final for the third time – they won it in 2009
In the first semi-final, Pakistan fielded superbly and their captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan enjoyed their best opening partnership of the tournament to see off New Zealand. On Thursday, a feverish India-supporting crowd in Adelaide watched on in shock as England chased down 169 without losing a wicket and with four overs to spare. Jos Buttler’s team hit top gear at just the right time, thrashing the much-fancied Indians. It means the tournament is denied the glamorous, money-spinning grudge match of a final that India vs Pakistan would have been, but England and Pakistan deserve to be there. The two sides played out a thrilling seven-match T20 series a few weeks before the World Cup, with England winning 4-3, so hopes are high for an entertaining final and a worthy winner.
Up to now, the entire tournament has been hidden behind the paywall of Sky Sports, but they have graciously done a deal with Channel 4 so that the final will be live for all to see on free-to-air television. If you’re not a cricket fan, I urge you to tune in – T20 is fast, exciting and England might just win a World Cup. And that’s not something that’s going to happen in Qatar.
T20 World Cup 2022 – Final England v Pakistan Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia Sunday 13th November 2022, 8am GMT Channel 4
This is a post I’ve been planning to write for a few weeks. With the events of the last few days marking the end of the second Elizabethan age, I realised that it will be more poignant.
I recently returned to the ‘retro shop’/garden centre that I had found a football magazine from 1964 in back in March. The pile of magazines and comics had gone, but I did discover a fascinating artefact of local history: the official guide to the Norwich Festival of 1951.
The Second World War was still fresh in the memories of the nation. Times were tough – austerity and food rationing had people in low spirits. The Labour government of the time planned a celebration of Britain and its achievements, to be held in the centenary year of the Great Exhibition. While the centrepiece was on the South Bank in London (it’s where we got the Royal Festival Hall from), events took place across the country, including in Norwich.
On 18th June 1951, Princess Elizabeth – later, of course, to become Elizabeth II – opened the Norwich Festival from the balcony of City Hall.
Princess Elizabeth arrives at City Hall in Norwich, 18th June 1951
At the time of the Festival, the country was under the reign of King George VI. Elizabeth would ascend to the throne upon her father’s death a year later. This means that the Festival, and its guide book, are a wonderful insight of what Britain was like immediately before the Elizabethan age we have all lived through.
The book is full of articles about the city and adverts from local businesses. The two are worth a post each, so I’m going to focus on the adverts today. They provide a window into a Norwich of yesterday – a city that made things (mainly shoes) and a city dominated by local names rather than high street chains. But they also show names that are immediately familiar.
I’ll start with this one, advertising the local newspapers of Norwich and Norfolk. The Eastern Daily Press and the Evening News are still in publication, though the EDP’s claim that ‘nearly one of every three Norfolk homes’ will have one is fanciful in this internet age. I bet their overworked staff wish they still had 200 correspondents to call upon as well.
The Eastern Football News, due to the pink paper it was published on, was known as The Pink ‘Un, a name still used by Archant today for its football coverage.
Recognise this place?
The Bell Hotel has hardly changed, on the outside at least, for 71 years.
Now, we’re off to Chamberlins.
The building was until recently partly used as a branch of Tesco Metro, opposite the Guildhall. Plans are to turn it into a hotel.
This advert for Boots caught my eye only because the pharmacist’s logo is almost the same as it is now.
The Town House is advertised, with a photo taken from its more attractive river side. You can still enjoy a meal and a drink there today.
Bonds department store in the city was destroyed in the Blitz. By 1951, its shiny, new building was nearing completion. The architecht’s drawing featured is pretty much exactly how it turned out.
Bonds became John Lewis in 2001.
The Bonds building as it stands today
Caleys used their space in the book to show off their new chocolate factory. The building is now long gone, demolished and replaced by what is now called Chantry Place shopping centre.
The cost of living – now there’s a phrase we hear a lot these days. It was a problem in 1951, as well, but Curls thought they had the answer. Curls would go on to be Debenhams, though even that has gone now and the building remains empty for the moment.
And finally, here’s an advert from hat maker H. Rumsey Wells. The shop closed in 1974 but, if the name sounds familiar, it’s because the name of the shop lives on in the name of a pub that now stands on its site.
The pub carries on the name of the hat maker on the site of his shop
This is merely a few of the many adverts that give a glimpse into the Norwich of 1951. I may well dip in again some time. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this, and may we enter the reign of King Charles III with optimism. Stay well, everyone.
On Sunday I went to Old Trafford for the T20 Blast match between Lancashire and Durham.
Me, my mum and her partner at Old Trafford
A week on from England becoming world champions (I will never get tired of saying that), cricket is enjoying a boost in popularity. The Cricket Paper reports that counties have noticed an increase in ticket sales for the T20 Blast as people who maybe haven’t been to a match for a while, or indeed at all, seize the opportunity to see the game in the flesh.
This includes – crucially – children. Most of the crowd in Manchester, which was huge for a domestic game, were families with youngsters. I’m not a big fan of kids – they are noisy, carry illnesses and can’t sit still for five minutes – but they are vitally important for the future of cricket. They all seemed to be having a great time, and that’s key. Children need to think of going to a cricket match as a normal thing to do, and something to look forward to. They will be the next generation of players and fans and will hopefully pass on their enthusiam to their own kids in years to come.
The players warm up at Old Trafford, Manchester about an hour before the start of play
I had been to Old Trafford before, for the Test match between England and India in 2014, and enjoyed the laid back atmosphere and friendly stewards. This makes it the ideal venue for 20 over cricket compared to, say, Lord’s which I find stuffy and inaccessible. The emphasis was on fun, with the Lancashire mascot Lanky the Giraffe dancing on the boundary before play began.
As for the match itself, T20 is perfect for those who are unfamiliar with cricket. It’s short and sharp and you get to see plenty of big sixes and wickets. Lancashire batted first in their opening home game of the tournament and amassed 189-3, opener Steven Croft top scoring with an unbeaten 65 from 43 balls. The star of the show, however, was Australia international Glenn Maxwell. The world number one ranked all rounder in T20s hit 58 off 33 balls with four sixes. Each boundary was received with loud cheers and a burst of pop music. It was interesting to see how partisan the crowd was, a lot of the people there seemed to feel for the Lancashire cricket team the same way I feel for Norwich City Football Club. They weren’t just there to enjoy a day out, they were there to see the home side win.
Australia international Glenn Maxwell bats for Lancashire in front of a huge crowd at Old Trafford
Durham never looked like chasing the 190 they needed to win and were all out for 117 within 17 overs. Scott Steel had scored 58 from 46 balls but the next highest score for the visitors was 12. Lancashire won by 72 runs and a couple of run outs were enough to secure Maxwell the player of the match award.
Maxwell played for Australia in the World Cup (having won it in 2015) so he was the main attraction for the kids. They gathered round to watch him be interviewed at the end of the match, taking photos and hoping for an autograph. The occasion was slightly lacking in big names. Both sides were packed with solid professionals and the standard was high but aside from Maxwell only D’Arcy Short, another Australian, would have been recognisable to most of the crowd. Short was not involved in the World Cup but has played for his country, as well as in T20 leagues around the world. Also on show was Keaton Jennings, who has scored a Test century for England but has otherwise struggled at the highest level and has been dropped from the most recent squad.
Player of the match Maxwell is interviewed after Lancashire’s 72 run win
The majority of the England players involved in the victorious World Cup campaign were getting a well deserved rest, with the seven week long tournament soon to be followed by a Test match against Ireland and the five match Ashes series against Australia. Part of me, though, wished that there could have been a way to get those stars involved in the first couple of rounds of T20 Blast fixtures to really capitalise on the current popularity of cricket in this country.
Had those England players been available, the Lancashire side would have featured Jos Buttler and Durham’s side would have boasted Ben Stokes, who was player of the match in the World Cup final. Mark Wood is also a Durham player but is injured and out until September. It would have been fantastic for the crowd to have been able to see their new heroes, but I understand that with a packed schedule it was almost impossible. Wood and Stokes paraded the World Cup trophy around Durham’s home ground the Riverside on Saturday, as captain Eoin Morgan had done around Lord’s, where he plays for Middlesex, on Thursday. I had a faint hope that Buttler might have done the same around Old Trafford on Sunday but it was not to be.
The T20 Blast is a fantastic product. Now in its 17th season, the crowds are big, the standard is high and overseas stars want to play in it. If some of it was on Free-to-air television instead of it all being on Sky Sports I have no doubt it would be a massive annual summer event.
Walking away from Old Trafford, I couldn’t for the life of me fathom why the authorities have felt the need to invent an entirely new format of the game to try to attract new fans. Next year will see the launch of The Hundred, a convoluted version of the game with the simplest part being one hundred balls per innings. Eight completely new teams, based around the major cities and with awful names like London Spirt and Leeds Superchargers, will take part. These teams will have to start from scratch, with none of the existing loyal following of the county sides. The only thing going for it is that some of it will be on BBC TV. It makes absolutely no sense and from what I can see it is doomed to fail.
My visit to Manchester on Sunday was conclusive proof for me that the England and Wales Cricket Board already has everything it needs to make cricket the undisputed second sport of the nation again. I can only hope that their seemingly muddled thinking doesn’t mean they miss the opportunity.
Being a cricket fan is not easy sometimes. You find yourself hiding your obsession to avoid hearing the typical ‘it’s so boring’ or ‘I don’t understand it’ responses. Liking cricket feels almost like a taboo, akin to saying you’re into taxidermy or the music of Dido.
Just when it needed it, cricket put on its greatest ever match. The stars were aligned on Sunday. An England team in the World Cup final on home soil, a nation crying out for some sporting success and available to watch on free-to-air television. What a time to play out the most nerve-wracking, topsy-turvy, closest game the sport has ever seen.
It was in early January 2003, just before school started again after Christmas, that I first got into cricket.
I was 10 years old and would get up in the morning to find my dad in the living room watching the Ashes Test from Sydney on TV. On the screen, I could see Michael Vaughan batting for England and can remember thinking ‘this is great’.
Vaughan’s strokeplay, especially his cover drive, were just so pleasing on the eye. I knew next to nothing about the sport at the time. I didn’t know England were 4-0 down in the five match series. I didn’t know the Australian team was one of the best there had ever been. But I was fascinated by this Englishman artfully approaching these little red missiles being fired at him and making several Australians chase after them. I didn’t want to stop watching.
Watching Michael Vaughan bat got me into cricket
I would say I love football and cricket equally. Thankfully, with the end of the football season signalling the start of the cricket season in this country I rarely have to choose between the two. If I had to pick just one, however, it would be cricket.
So much can happen at any moment in a cricket match. Every ball is an event. There are so many ways for the batsman to score runs and so many ways for the bowler to get him out. Football tends to be mostly tedious until the last ten minutes of a game. And cricket is so aesthetically pleasing – it certainly takes the crown of ‘the beautiful game’ for me. Sorry, Pele.
I also love how cricket is so incredibly difficult to be good at. You’ve got three disciplines to tackle and it’s hard to be proficient at any of them. The chances of being good at all three are next to zero. International cricketers seem almost superhuman compared to mere mortals like me. Just look (below) at this catch England’s Ben Stokes took in an Ashes Test in 2015.
Cricket was the new cool in 2005 when England won the Ashes for the first time in 18 years, beating an immensely strong Australia 2-1 in what is unlikely ever to usurped as the best Test series of all time. The game was on the front and back pages of the newspapers and 7.4 million people tuned in to watch the end of the final Test live on Channel 4.
Since then, the England cricket team has only been visible on live television to Sky Sports subscribers. Prohibitively expensive to many and not likely to be stumbled upon by the casual viewer, cricket dropped out of the national consciousness and the numbers of people playing and watching sank. The conclusion of the final Ashes Test in 2009, only on Sky Sports, was watched by less than two million.
These are the reasons why this year’s World Cup has been so important for cricket in the UK. The world’s best players have been competing on our doorsteps for nearly seven weeks. Fan parks have opened the tournament up to thousands of newcomers. And to top it all, England came into it as favourites and have reached the final.
England thrashed Australia in the semi-finals to reach the Cricket World Cup final for the first time since 1992
It’s hard to put into words what England winning the World Cup would do for the game. How often can we say that England are world champions in any sport? With the match against New Zealand at Lord’s being the first time the England team can be seen live on terrestrial television for 14 years – it’s going to be live on Channel 4 – this is a massive opportunity for cricket to engage with the wider public once again.
I’d love for a kid to catch sight of cricket on the TV for the first time on Sunday and be captured by it in the way I was sixteen years ago. For Jonny Bairstow or Joe Root to inspire in the way that Michael Vaughan did. After all, success makes you popular.
The Cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand at Lord’s will be live on Channel 4 and Sky Sports on Sunday 14th July, with the first ball at 10.30am.
37 days after it began, the Cricket World Cup has reached the end of the group stage and just the two semi-finals and the final are left to be played.
Before it started, I wrote a guide to the tournament and explained why I was so excited about it. This feels like an ideal time to look back at the five weeks of action we’ve seen and ask: has it lived up to the hype?
Rain
The World Cup got going with hosts and favourites England comfortably beating South Africa at The Oval. On day two, everyone was excited about what appeared to be the return of fearsome West Indian fast bowling as Pakistan were bounced out for 105.
On the first Sunday of the tournament, Bangladesh scored 330 against South Africa and successfully defended it to give us the first eyebrow-raising result. So long seen as minnows in the game, Bangladesh are now a competitive outfit in international cricket and look to be getting better and better.
Having beaten Pakistan 4-0 in an ODI series just prior to the World Cup, England would have been expecting to make it two wins from two when the two sides met again at Trent Bridge. However, Pakistan won by 14 runs – despite centuries from Joe Root and Jos Buttler – to give the favourites a reality check.
It was in Cardiff, the venue for Afghanistan versus Sri Lanka, where rain first reared its ugly head in the tournament. Having been blessed with the hottest and driest summer for forty years last year, things were very different in 2019 and an unusually wet couple of weeks saw four matches unable to render a result – three of them without a single ball being bowled. During this time, I spent a lot of time arguing with people on the internet who seemed to think that rain was somehow unique to the UK and that we shouldn’t be allowed to host future international tournaments. One of the matches lost to the weather was the fascinating prospect of India against New Zealand.
Rain caused havoc in the early stages of the World Cup
The first thriller
India began their campaign almost a week into it, apparently because they wanted their players to have extra time to rest after their efforts in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Their first match was a comfortable victory over South Africa – a third defeat for the Proteas, which left them teetering on the edge of elimination.
Up to this point, the World Cup had seen many strong individual performances but mostly one-sided games. Under the lights at The Oval, Bangladesh and New Zealand put an end to that. Chasing 245 to win, the Black Caps got over the line with just two wickets to spare. The following day, Australia recovered from 38-4 to set the West Indies 289 to win. Mitchell Starc’s 5-46 saw the holders win by 15 runs.
New Zealand won a close game against Bangladesh at The Oval
England racked up 386-6 against Bangladesh in Cardiff, winning by 106 runs to get back on track after their defeat by Pakistan. India beat Australia by 36 runs after the Australians took a muddled approach to chasing 353, but Aaron Finch’s side bounced back with a victory against Pakistan in Taunton.
England thrashed the West Indies in Southampton, bowling their opponents out for just 212 and chasing it down with more than 16 overs to spare. However, injuries suffered by Jason Roy and captain Eoin Morgan cast a shadow on the result.
India and Pakistan met at Old Trafford. A rivalry that goes way beyond sport, earlier this year there had been a threat that India would boycott the match as political tensions between the two countries escalated. 700,000 applications for tickets had reportedly been made for the game at a ground that holds around 25,000. India won handsomely.
Bangladesh chased 322 with ease to beat the West Indies, Shakib Al Hasan with an unbeaten century – the all rounder had a fine World Cup, amassing more than 500 runs.
England, and Eoin Morgan in particular, had a field day against Afghanistan in Manchester. The skipper hit a record 17 sixes on his way to 148, the hosts posting a total of 397-6 and setting up a 150 run victory. The next day, Edgbaston hosted its first match of the tournament and we were treated to an exciting finish as New Zealand chased 242 in the final over to beat South Africa. New Zealand had been 137-5, but an unbeaten 106 from their captain Kane Williamson and 60 from Colin De Grandhomme saw them home.
England captain Eoin Morgan smashed 17 sixes in his 148 against Afghanistan
Australia saw off Bangladesh in Trent Bridge’s final game, but Bangladesh got within 48 of the Aussie total of 381 to once again show that they are no pushovers.
Blown wide open
The weather had finally dried up and the cricket on show was entertaining, but it did seem like the likely semi-final line up of Australia, England, India and New Zealand was almost inevitable. Cue an English batting collapse.
England had been utterly transformed since the 2015 World Cup, playing aggressive cricket like no other. But against Sri Lanka at Headingley, they came unstuck. Restricting their opponents to a meagre 232-9, everyone was expecting England to sail to victory. They completely fell apart. Veteran Lasith Malinga took 4 wickets, the hosts were bowled out for 212, and suddenly the semi-final places were blown wide open.
Saturday 22nd June provided us with two thrillers. India were held to 224-8 by Afghanistan, but managed to save their blushes by bowling the Afghans out for 213. Afghanistan had fallen 12 short of pulling off the biggest shock in Cricket World Cup history. At Old Trafford, New Zealand set the West Indies 292 to win thanks to another Williamson hundred. It looked comfortable for the Black Caps at 164-7, but an extraordinary rearguard effort from Carlos Brathwaite got the West Indies within touching distance of victory. Needing 6 to win, Brathwaite tried to get it done in one hit but was caught on the boundary by Trent Boult. Brathwaite, who had made 101, sank to his knees and New Zealand had won by 5 runs.
Carlos Brathwaite came agonisingly close to pulling off a stunning victory for the West Indies against New Zealand
Lord’s joined the party on the Sunday and Pakistan took advantage of England’s defeat to Sri Lanka by overcoming South Africa. At the same venue a couple of days later, England were all out for 221 chasing 286 against the old enemy Australia and the prospect of England being knocked out of their own World Cup before the semis became very real. Pakistan dealt New Zealand their first defeat of the tournament the next day to rub salt into English wounds.
Semi-finals take shape
A week on from coming so close to beating India, Afghanistan came agonisingly short once again – this time against Pakistan. Needing 228 to win, Pakistan got there with just 2 balls and 3 wickets to spare. The result put Pakistan into 4th place, above England. Australia skittled New Zealand for 157 to complete an 86 run victory, making it clear that they are the team to beat.
England knew they had to beat India to stay in the race, and credit to them, they did just that. Batting first for a change, they powered their way to 337-7, the returning Jason Roy making 66. Jonny Bairstow made 111 and Ben Stokes finished the innings off with 79. In front of an Edgbaston crowd which was more than 80% India fans, a partnership between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli looked ominous but when Kohli was out for 66 the Indians never managed to get the chase back on track and ran out of overs with 32 runs still required. England had a confidence-boosting win, and had set up a huge game against New Zealand in Durham.
Pressure is not usually something that England teams deal with well. In any sport, English sides have a reputation for failing when it matters. So it was to their cricket team’s credit that, faced with having to beat India and New Zealand in succession to resurrect their World Cup campaign and make the semi-finals, they did just that. Winning the toss and batting first again, Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow showed no nerves as they got off to a fast start. By the time Roy was out for 60, England had 123 on the board inside 19 overs and a platform had been set. They didn’t really capitalise on it, ending up with 305-8, but Bairstow did reach back-to-back hundreds.
New Zealand never really looked like chasing 306. Things were clearly going England’s way when Ross Taylor played the ball straight back from where it had come from, brushing the tip of Mark Wood’s finger on the way to hitting the stumps at the non-striker’s end, where New Zealand’s captain and most dangerous batsman was well short of his ground and therefore run out for 27. The Black Caps were all out for 186. England were through.
A century from Jonny Bairstow helped England qualify for the semi-finals
Another close one for Afghanistan, but another defeat as they finished their World Cup with a 23 run defeat by the West Indies in Leeds. All out for 288 chasing 312, the Afghans will only get better and better but leave the tournament with nine defeats from nine matches.
Pakistan were left bemoaning the use of Net Run Rate to decide league positions after their victory over Bangladesh at Lord’s wasn’t enough for them to take a semi-finals spot. They have a point, it seems odd that in a format in which everyone plays each other head-to-head results are not given greater importance than run rate. But there was nothing they could do about it, so New Zealand claimed the last place in the semis.
The final day of pool stage matches on Saturday 6th July was all about who would finish top of the table. India played in the early match and emphatically saw off Sri Lanka, both of their openers scoring centuries – Rohit Sharma with his fifth of the tournament – as they made light work of chasing 265.
The day/night match was between Australia and South Africa. The South African captain Faf du Plessis made a hundred as they posted a challenging 325-6 from their 50 overs. Despite a century from David Warner and 85 from wicketkeeper Alex Carey, the Aussies were all out on the penultimate ball of the innings ten runs short of their target. The Proteas had finished a disappointing World Cup on a high.
South Africa beat Australia in the last pool stage match
The semi-finals
After 45 matches, we now know the semi-final fixtures:
Tuesday 9th July: India v New Zealand, Old Trafford Thursday 11th July: Australia v England, Edgbaston
Of course, the winners of these two matches will play each other in the final at Lord’s next Sunday, 14th July. There is no third place play-off.
My awards
With the pool stage complete, here are my ‘bests’ of the tournament.
Best match
New Zealand v West Indies at Old Trafford was a great example of the best of ODI cricket. Superb individual performances, a good contest between bat and ball and one side almost pulling victory from the jaws of defeat. Watch the highlights below.
Best catch
This World Cup has been littered with fantastic catches. Martin Guptill plucked one out of the air for New Zealand against Australia. Sheldon Cottrell of the West Indies juggled the ball on the boundary to dismiss Steve Smith. But, for me, the award has to go to Ben Stokes, who took a catch which genuinely took my breath away way back in the first match of the tournament. I play village cricket, and catches like this are an example of how the professionals are superhuman compared to us. Watch the catch below.
Best innings
For the most part, the world’s best players came to the party. From the ‘big four’ – regarded as the best international batsmen in the world – of Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith, all performed well. But it was the innings of New Zealand captain Williamson against South Africa at Edgbaston, guiding his team home from 137-5 chasing 242 with an unbeaten 106, that personified the notion of a captain’s innings. Watch highlights of the match below.
Most disappointing team
South Africa should have put on a much better show than they did. They looked to have one of the stronger squads, but never really got going. The great fast bowler Dale Steyn was sadly ruled out without bowling a ball, then factors such as muddled team selection and Hashim Amla’s old fashioned batting contributed to their downfall. They laboured to a win against Afghanistan to put their first victory on the board, and it was only when it was too late that they showed what might have been with a thrashing of Sri Lanka and a victory over Australia.
Worst part of the tournament
I thought about giving this award to the concept of someone playing a guitar made out of a cricket bat over the PA system at regular intervals during matches. It sounded horrendous. But the worst part of the World Cup for me has been the weather. Two particularly bad weeks in early June saw four matches called off and really put a halt to the party atmosphere. Thankfully, it has improved significantly since then.
Before the tournament began, I thought Australia, England and India would sail into the semi-finals leaving one place up for grabs. England made rather more hard work of it than I had anticipated, but they are there, and it was New Zealand who join them for what promises to be an exciting final week. It’s almost time to say goodbye to the 2019 Cricket World Cup – will its enduring image be the Aussies being crowned world champions for the sixth time?
For a mad keen cricket fan like me, 2019 is like a birthday and Christmas present rolled into one. The World Cup is being held in England and Wales, with England the favourites to win it, and in August the Ashes start with England and Australia renewing their famous rivalry.
I have friends who may not quite understand much about cricket and why I’m so excited about this year – so I’ve written this for you.
Hosts England are favourites to win the cricket World Cup
When does the World Cup start?
The World Cup is just one week away. It starts on Thursday 30th May when England play South Africa at The Oval in London. The final is on Sunday 14th July at Lord’s.
How does the World Cup work?
There are ten countries playing in the World Cup. That’s not many compared to other sports. Compare it to the last football World Cup – where 32 teams were involved – or the rugby World Cup later this year, which will feature 20 teams.
Those 10 teams are:
Afghanistan Australia Bangladesh England India New Zealand Pakistan South Africa Sri Lanka West Indies
The teams all play each other once, with the top four going through to the semi-finals. There, 1st place will play 4th place and 2nd will play 3rd. Then, of course, the winners of those matches will play in the final.
There will be one match a day (two on Saturdays) between the start of the tournament on 30th May and the conclusion of the group stage on 6th July.
Where are the matches being played?
Ten grounds will host matches in the World Cup, stretching as far north as County Durham and as far south as Hampshire. They are:
The Riverside (Durham) Headingley (Leeds) Old Trafford (Manchester) Trent Bridge (Nottingham) Edgbaston (Birmingham) Lord’s (London) The Oval (London) County Ground (Bristol) Sophia Gardens (Cardiff) County Ground (Taunton) Rose Bowl (Southampton)
The iconic Lord’s will host the cricket World Cup final on 14th July
How can I follow it?
Every single match of the World Cup is live on Sky Sports, so you’ll need to pay to watch it on TV. Now TV is the best way in my opinion – you can buy one of their devices and buy a Sky Sports month pass for £25. Two of those will see you through the World Cup.
Highlights of every match will be on Channel 4.
If you prefer listening to the radio, commentary will be available on the BBC’s famous Test Match Special on Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.
Why are you so excited about it?
This is the first time England have hosted the cricket World Cup since 1999. Back then, I was a nearly-7-year-old who didn’t know what cricket was. England are also the favourites for it, going into the tournament as the number one ranked One Day International (ODI) team in the world.
Australia won the last cricket World Cup in 2015
It’s going to a close run thing, too – out of the ten teams playing, I reckon seven have a genuine chance of winning it. I think Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will struggle but the other seven will be fighting for the four places in the semi-finals. Even those three I’ve mentioned are capable of causing a few upsets.
I hope you’ve found this guide useful and you might indulge in a bit of cricket over the next eight weeks or so. I’ll be writing about the games you should watch as we go along.
I know I shouldn’t rise to it. I know they are on the wind up. Looking for a reaction. Reeling me in.
But I just can’t help it.
I’m referring to people on Twitter who reply to any – and I mean any – post about women’s sport with the words ‘no one cares’.
A blokey bloke claiming to speak for every man in Britain
It’s incredibly irritating. It’s so fundamentally incorrect, so infuriatingly dismissive and so annoyingly pompous. Who are they to speak for everyone? They might not care themselves, fine, but they don’t speak for me.
Personally, if I don’t care about something I don’t spend my time commenting on tweets about it making it clear to everyone that I am not interested. I like most sports but golf and Formula 1 leave me cold. I am well aware that millions of people love them, though, so I leave them to it. It’s the way these blokes – and it is always blokes – desperately need to tell everyone that they don’t care about women’s sport that gets to me.
Another bloke
It is most often ‘no one cares’. That’s the textbook blokey casually sexist reply. Sometimes it’s a snide comment on the size of the crowds at a women’s sporting event. Sometimes it’s more explicit, with suggestions that the players ‘should be in the kitchen’ or that there would be more interest if the players were in bikinis.
Joking or not, comments like these are wrong. It’s 2019 now. Shouldn’t we have moved on from these tired cliches? Jokes require an element of humour, and there’s nothing funny about them.
Women’s sport is in a fantastic place right now, and getting better all the time. As I write this, the England football team are on the verge of winning the SheBelieves Cup. The England cricket team are world champions, having beaten India in front of a crowd of around 25,000 at Lord’s in 2017. And who could forget the Great Britain hockey team’s thrilling gold medal at Rio 2016?
England’s women’s cricket team won the World Cup in 2017
When England’s women played the Netherlands in the semi-finals of Euro 2017, 4 million people watched it on Channel 4. This was the biggest UK audience for a women’s football match to date, and the match got double the average audience of that day’s episode of Celebrity Big Brother. This is solid proof that ‘no one cares’ is plainly wrong.
This is not about wanting to fight a battle on behalf of women. This just really irritates me. When I’ve engaged with the people who make these comments, I’m usually met with denial. Nobody cares mate. These facts you’re telling me are made up. Sometimes I’m told that I’m in the ‘PC (politically correct) brigade’. I’m not. It’s not PC to not hate, or be frightened of, women. Because that’s what these men are. They will deny it until they are red in the face but they’re are afraid that these women playing sport threatens their masculinity.
Once, I was given the bizarre response that I am only defending women’s sport because I think it would make women want to sleep with me. I mean, really? How shallow can you be? That one wasn’t even worthy of a reaction.
This bloke can only imagine caring about women’s sport if it was in the pursuit of sex
I felt like writing this because I am sick of calling out the ‘no one cares’ blokes on Twitter. I thought I’d write very clearly why they are wrong and link them to it in future.
Women’s sport is on the rise and that should be celebrated. It doesn’t need some bloke on social media dismissing it. Let’s not let them.
England’s impressive young team made the international break more bearable
I’m never pleased when the international break comes around. They force an irritating halt to domestic football. In September, October and November they make the beginning of the season a stop-start affair; at times like this they make us all pause when our clubs have important matters to attend to.
That this one should be at the Easter weekend, traditionally a packed four days in the league calendar, made it even less welcome. Norwich City’s back-to-back clean sheets, first win since early January and slice of fortune with the result of the Tyne-Wear derby would have to be put to one side for a fortnight, until the huge game against Newcastle.
In the meantime, England would play friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands as part of their preparations for Euro 2016. Like many, I wasn’t expecting much. Germany are the world champions and, in Berlin, you’d expect them to sweep England aside.
This is the reason why what actually happened last night was such a pleasant surprise. From the start, there was an energy about the England team. They were closing the Germans down very well. We are so used to seeing us sit back and watch the opposition pass the ball around in these prestige friendlies, but last night the hosts were not given any time on the ball before a red shirt was trying to hound it off them.
Germany had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside, but hey, it’s about time England had some luck (Frank Lampard anyone?). The Germans did go ahead when Toni Kroos took advantage of goalkeeper Jack Butland’s hindered mobility to fire one in at his near post. I am certain that, had he not done damage to himself seconds earlier, the Stoke keeper would have made a routine save.
In the second half, England were continuing to impress, finding each other well with passes and causing their rivals problems with some clever moves. It seemed unjust when Mario Gomez jumped between Gary Cahill and Nathaniel Clyne to put Germany 2-0 up. It was a scoreline that would have given the ‘same old England’ brigade ammunition but did not tell the story of the match.
What England were doing was making chances but wasting them. In the end, they had 19 shots on goal – 9 more than Germany – and 6 of them were on target. The Germans only hit the target twice in the whole game, and with stereotypical efficiency, scored two goals.
Harry Kane provided the spark for an England comeback by reigning in an untidy Jordan Henderson corner and fooled two defenders with a Cruyff turn – so apt in this week of all weeks – before striking it into the corner of the net with pinpoint accuracy.
Harry Kane sends a German defender for ice cream as he scores England’s first goal in Berlin
With less than twenty minutes to go, Roy Hodgson introduced Jamie Vardy in place of Danny Welbeck. He had been on the pitch for 198 seconds when his audacious backheel from Clyne’s cross wrong-footed Manuel Neuer and brought the scores level. Vardy became the first Leicester City player since Gary Lineker in 1985 to score a goal for England.
All but the harshest of England supporters would have gladly taken a draw away from the Olympiastadion having been two goals behind with 25 minutes to play. However, in stoppage time, Jordan Henderson finally got one of his corners right and Eric Dier thumped it in with his head to stun the world champions and give England a quite brilliant victory.
Eric Dier completed the comeback to stun the world champions Germany
I will not get carried away. You can tell me that it was a friendly, that it was an ‘experimental’ German side, that it was a fluke, whatever – it was still a performance to get a little bit excited about. We are not going to win the Euros this summer. We might, however, do ourselves proud while we are there and build towards future tournaments with genuine promise.
The reason for this optimism is from the players involved in Berlin. We knew Joe Hart would be missing after getting injured in last weekend’s Manchester derby, but no one was particularly worried because we knew that Jack Butland was a more than able deputy. Butland was injured himself in the first half of the match, but Southampton’s Fraser Forster was perfectly capable of filling in. Goalkeeper wise, England have rarely had three as strong as those at the same time.
In defence, England look to have sorted out the full back positions. Nathaniel Clyne and Danny Rose appeared right at home in the back four, Rose in particular with some excellent tackles, and both were willing to race forward and mount an attack. Gary Cahill is clearly the odd one out, and you would expect John Stones to replace him at some point in the near future and form a partnership with Chris Smalling.
Eric Dier did an excellent job of protecting the defence and demonstrated his ability to pick out a forward pass. I personally have questions over the Liverpool pair of Henderson and Adam Lallana. Lallana hasn’t had a great season but has the ability, Henderson I wonder if he’s actually just rather ordinary and is mostly ‘a great man to have in the dressing room’. He missed a glorious chance, having his shot blocked by a defender when the keeper had been taken out of the equation, and I wonder if Ross Barkley has more of a place in this team than him.
The outstanding player for England on a night of very good performances was Dele Alli. It was easy to forget that the Tottenham midfielder is a few weeks away from his 20th birthday. Rarely has an Englishman looked so comfortable on the international stage so early on in their career. His dribbling, his passing and his sheer will to be involved and get on the ball made him more than fit to share a stage with the world champions on the night. He will need careful management but we look to have a real star on our hands here.
Dele Alli was magnificent on a great night for England
Danny Welbeck often gets a raw deal from the fans but he worked hard for his country, getting into good positions and never allowing the defenders to rest, always niggling away at them. His finishing ability is undoubted, and he has a definite role to play in the squad. Talk of finishing ability – Harry Kane is one of the best we’ve had in that respect for a long time, and Jamie Vardy continues to ride on the crest of a wave. Four years ago, Vardy was playing for Fleetwood Town.
Then consider what England have in reserve. Leicester’s Danny Drinkwater was in the squad for the first time, rewarded for a sublime campaign for the Premier League leaders, and, in the end, was untried. He will surely get some time on the pitch against the Netherlands on Tuesday. Daniel Sturridge didn’t make it off the bench. There is still Wayne Rooney to come back from injury too.
This is a very young team too. Take a look at the ages of the starting eleven in this game:
Jack Butland – 23
Nathaniel Clyne – 24
Gary Cahill – 30
Chris Smalling – 26
Danny Rose – 25
Eric Dier – 22
Jordan Henderson – 25
Adam Lallana – 27
Dele Alli – 19
Danny Welbeck – 25
Harry Kane – 22
If Cahill is indeed replaced by 21-year-old Stones, this brings the average age down even further. This is a squad of players who will be around for a while. 30-year-old Rooney would be something of an old man amongst that lot, but might not be the worst player to have as a vastly experienced captain to guide them.
Four of the starters last night were Tottenham players. I think it showed too, they were linking up with each other superbly. It can only help the national team if the core of the side all play for the same club. Three were Liverpool players, and just one was a Manchester United man. How times change.
I can honestly say that last night was the best I’d seen England play in a very long time and it felt slightly strange to actually be enjoying watching an international friendly. The future looks bright and if they can play like that more often, maybe I won’t be quite so annoyed when the international break rolls around. Maybe.
LEE PAYNE 